GRMFBS CH96

Zhan Yan cheered joyfully and ran to the kitchen to help his dad out.

After tidying up for a bit, Zhan Yunkai suddenly received an affectionate message from his wife: [I saw it (Heart)], accompanied by a photo of the bouquet he had bought.

Turning to look outside the kitchen, the bouquet he brought back had already been unwrapped and arranged in a vase. Zhan Suiru was holding her phone and waving at him with a wide grin.

Xingxing slept in short, frequent spurts. Having just woken up, it padded out of the second-floor bedroom to look for Zhan Yan.

The kitten was so young it had never gone down the stairs by itself before. Sprawled at the top of the staircase looking down, it was so nervous its fur stood on end.

But there was no one around at the moment. After crouching there for a while, it stretched a paw forward and began descending step by step.

After successfully navigating a few steps, Xingxing found its rhythm and grew excited, bounding downwards with bold and wild abandon.

When it reached the final five steps, it fumbled a jump and went tumbling down like a rolling ball.

Zhan Yunkai, who was walking past carrying a dish, had just set one foot on the fourth step when the rolling fur-ball tumbled right onto his shoe. The kitten raised its head dizzily and looked at Zhan Yunkai: “Mew.”

Zhan Yunkai stared at the cat without speaking. Having been tortured by Wan Yan for so long, he was currently experiencing a stress response at the sight of a cat.

Zhan Yan drifted past carrying a dish. “Xingxing is awake? Hey, Dad, Xingxing likes you!”

Xingxing was currently trying to climb straight up Zhan Yunkai’s long leg.

“I gave it to Yan Yan~ The little calico is brave, it isn’t afraid of Yan Yan!” Zhan Suiru said, taking the two dishes from Zhan Yunkai’s hands.

Zhan Yunkai was finally able to withdraw his long leg and scooped the cat up securely.

Observing it closely, it truly was just an ordinary cat. It wouldn’t cry about looking for Lin Yuan all day, it wouldn’t try to pounce on his tail, and it wouldn’t run around casting shedding curses everywhere…

Xingxing let out a delicate, coquettish meow, lowering its head to nudge against Zhan Yunkai.

Ah! Compared to Wan Yan, what an adorable cat this is!

Zhan Yunkai set Xingxing down. “Has it eaten? I’ll make some cat food for it!”

After several months, Zhan Yan finally got to taste his father’s cooking again, deeply moved.

Fully sated, Zhan Yan lay on the sofa holding Xingxing, who was similarly sprawled out in a food coma. “Ah! Life is so blissful!”

Zhan Yunkai revealed a kind smile. “Yan Yan, how have your morning workouts been going lately? I noticed you haven’t checked in for a while.”

If a child’s aesthetic sense was having problems, it was mostly because they had too much free time. Eating more and exercising more to grow strong would leave them with no energy to let their thoughts wander. This was the experience His Majesty the Demon King had gleaned from observing child-rearing in the demon clan!

Zhan Yan: “I was checking in every day before! I only stopped because I sometimes had to film morning scenes when I joined the crew!”

Zhan Yan rolled up his sleeve to reveal his slender arm and flexed. “Look! I even grew muscles!”

Without a standard to compare it against, Zhan Yunkai couldn’t quite tell and hesitated.

Terrified his dad might stuff him with more fitness meals, Zhan Yan pulled Zhan Suiru over to arm wrestle, bursting with confidence. “I’m definitely going to win!”

His sister was a girl and didn’t like working out either. Meanwhile, he had been training for a whole semester! He had even increased his barbell weight twice!

“That won’t be necessary, right…” Zhan Suiru tried to decline.

She had no idea what level of strength to use as a baseline to test her brother!

Zhan Yunkai, however, thought this was a brilliant idea. “Sure, sure, let Dad have a look!”

Zhan Jinli brought chairs over for the two. Once they were seated and clasped hands, Zhan Yunkai counted down, “Three, two, one.”

Zhan Yan pushed with all his might!

His sister didn’t budge an inch.

Zhan Yan’s eyes widened in disbelief, and he pushed even harder!

Did I use too much force? Zhan Suiru thought hesitantly. She began to slacken her grip, slowly letting her arm get pushed down along with Zhan Yan’s exertion.

Her acting was terrible, and Zhan Yunkai saw right through it.

He sighed. “Yan Yan… keep working hard!”

Zhan Yan: QAQ

Jie, how are you so strong!

Zhan Suiru: Guilty conscience…

Zhan Yan was forced to take on extra training sessions for several days. His dad had his own reasoning: previously, Zhan Yan had to attend school, so morning workouts were enough. But now he was on winter break and had adjusted for a while, so adding extra training was perfectly fine.

In the dead of winter, running a lap in the morning and a lap at night left Zhan Yan running until he questioned the meaning of life.

The days were short in winter, and by six in the evening, the sky had already gone dark. The night wind rustled the leaves, carrying with it the rhythmic sounds of impact. Under the dim, yellow streetlights, a circle of figures could be vaguely seen in the neighborhood’s fitness plaza. With both arms stretched out straight in front of them and wearing white gloves, they hopped forward in a circle, just like zombies.

Zhan Yan’s hairs stood on end instantly!

[You were given a fright by the middle-aged and elderly people doing square dancing in the fitness plaza.]

Zhan Yan: “…”

What kind of square dance is this?!

Just then, the people in the plaza shifted into a square formation and began twisting their waists, swinging their arms, and kicking their legs. Now, it finally looked like they were actually square dancing.

But why are you square dancing without any music? It’s so creepy late at night!

His curiosity piqued, Zhan Yan ran over to take a look. Not long after, everyone finished their routine and began their halftime break, resting a bit before the next set.

Auntie Bai, their neighbor, was among them. Seeing Zhan Yan, she enthusiastically came over to say hi.

“Little Yan, you’re out exercising at night too?”

“Yeah, Auntie Bai, are you guys square dancing? Why is there no music?”

Bai Linghui turned her head to show him, pointing at her ear. “We’re wearing Bluetooth earbuds. Playing it out loud would disturb the neighbors, wouldn’t it?”

“Ohhh!” Zhan Yan realized.

Bai Linghui joked with him, “How’s your workout going? Want to join us?”

Zhan Yan thought it over. “Sure!”

Wasn’t square dancing together much happier than running laps by himself late at night?

Bai Linghui hadn’t expected him to agree. Surprised for a moment, she broke into a smile. “Great! Come on, I’ll teach you the steps first!”

The aunties and uncles who square danced had never seen a young person join them before and all crowded around to watch the novelty.

Zhan Yan found himself the center of aggressive attention:

“Whose child is this? So handsome!”

“Oh my, what a fine young man! How old are you? Are you in college?”

“Looking this good, he’s definitely going places!”

Bai Linghui introduced him with as much pride as if he were her own son, showering him with a barrage of praise before shifting to protect him:

“Alright, alright! Stop holding the kid up from learning the dance, ask him next time! Next time!”

One enthusiastic auntie lent her own Bluetooth earbud to Zhan Yan. Bai Linghui took him through the next routine.

Square dancing wasn’t difficult, and Zhan Yan had a good memory. Learning the bulk of it during the break, he simply followed along from the back once the music started.

After doing this for two or three days, Zhan Yan had successfully mastered the three routines everyone usually danced, blending in perfectly and becoming the darling of the auntie and uncle circle. Anyone who saw him would cheerfully call out, “Little Yan is here!”

A few days after that, relying on his excellent dance moves and popularity, he had even worked his way up to lead dancer.

A couple of days later, when Zhan Yunkai went out grocery shopping, he noticed many middle-aged and elderly people secretly watching him.

“Hey, is that Little Yan’s dad?”

“Not sure, but Bai Linghui said his dad is incredibly handsome.”

“Let’s go ask!”

For the first time, Zhan Yunkai experienced the sensation of being famous in the neighborhood because of his son. The middle-aged and elderly folks didn’t pay much attention to entertainment news, so they hadn’t realized he had once been a popular actor. Instead, they enthusiastically invited him to buy groceries together every day, swapping tips on picking the best vegetables and comparing prices!

This experience was so novel! In the past, Zhan Yunkai had always worried his face would disrupt his life, so he tried to avoid socializing with ordinary people as much as possible, keeping virtually zero contact with the local community.

But now, this group of people not only dragged him along to buy groceries but also wanted to rope him into square dancing!

Zhan Yunkai didn’t plan on joining the square dance, but he did want to see how his youngest son was dancing!

Thus, on an ordinary evening, Zhan Yunkai slipped out quietly and arrived at the small plaza, where he saw his son standing at the very front of the group, leading the dance with vibrant energy.

Zhan Yunkai: “…” Ahem! Must not laugh!

[Seeing his youngest son become the lead square dancer, the Chongming Demon King felt incredibly gratified and struggled to hold back his laughter.]

Catching sight of this gossip slip completely off guard, Zhan Yan stumbled mid-step, his eyes flying wide open.

[Zhan Suiru secretly followed Zhan Yunkai to the small plaza, discovered her younger brother square dancing, and pulled out her phone to covertly record him.]

[Dragged out by Zhan Suiru, Zhan Jinli followed along to the small plaza, discovered his younger brother square dancing, and found it highly amusing.]

Zhan Yan: “…”

Right in the middle of a turning move, he looked across the crowd of dancers and made direct eye contact with the three people standing under the streetlight.

Ah! What kind of people are these?!

Zhan Yan’s brain spun at lightning speed. Pretending nothing was wrong, he seriously finished the final section. During the break, he led all the uncles and aunties over, enthusiastically introduced both sides, and relentlessly urged everyone to drag his dad, brother, and sister into the square dancing squad!

Bai Linghui had worn herself out making pastries today and was sitting on the sidelines resting during the second session. Zhan Yan sneakily pulled her aside. “Auntie Bai, I want to record a video to send to my mom later. Could you help me film it with my phone?”

As long as everyone had an embarrassing history, it was the same as no one having one.

But he overlooked the fact that Auntie Bai actually knew his mom and was on very good terms with her.

Bai Linghui not only recorded it on Zhan Yan’s phone but also on her own, directly sending it to Ji Yueming right after.

Bai Linghui: [[Video]]

[That’s Little Yan leading the dance in the front. He dances so well! (Thumbs up) (Thumbs up) (Thumbs up)]

[The one in the middle of the first row is Old Zhan, Jinli is on his left, and Suiru is on his right.]

This was because everyone had taken care of the three beginners, placing them right behind the lead dancer so they could follow along most easily.

Bai Linghui: [They’ve all come to square dance! Do you want to give it a try too when you have time to come back?]

Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau.

Because the transfer of the Infinite fragments was imminent, the members of the Bureau’s action and information support teams were incredibly busy. Route planning, advance scouting, patrol deployment, and so on all required arrangements from the Tianshi, who was leading the operation.

Ji Yueming was busy out of her mind and only found time to rest when night fell.

“Go to the training room and run through the plan again, simulating every possible scenario. I will not allow a single mistake to occur on this trip, understood?”

“Understood!”

“Shi Qin, come here. You’ve exceeded your training limit; come to the break room with me. Everyone else, mind your own training loads. Don’t exhaust yourselves before I even need to use you.”

Once Ji Yueming had arranged everything, she entered the break room and lay down in a massage pod.

The massage pods at the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau were custom-made. In addition to standard massage functions, they also possessed certain psychological guidance and mental relaxation capabilities, making them exorbitantly expensive.

However, none of these were of any use to Ji Yueming. She didn’t need the first two, and while she did need the third, the pod’s effect was far too weak. She only lay in it because it was comfortable to sit in.

“Don’t mind me, just do what you need to do,” Ji Yueming said, pulling out her phone.

To her, the massage pod’s mental relaxation couldn’t even compare to scrolling through the family group chat. When she was in a good mood, her mental state naturally improved.

The others nodded and were just preparing to rest when they suddenly saw the Tianshi’s eyes go wide as she stared at her phone.

What did Boss Tianshi just see? Has another incident occurred?!

The square dancing video Bai Linghui sent was playing on her phone screen. Even in the pitch-black darkness without music, the vibrant energy of the four of them was plain to see.

Ji Yueming: ???

Just what on earth has been going on while I wasn’t home?!